SYDNEY: Australian miner Fortescue said Friday it intended to almost triple its projected iron ore production with an $8.4 billion expansion in the resource-rich Pilbara region in the country's west. Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. said the expansion over 30 months would include new mines, rail lines and ports infrastructure and take iron ore production from 55 million tonnes per year to 155 million tons. It will allow Fortescue, which competes with giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, to “exponentially increase product sales within key markets of Asia, Europe and Australia,” chief executive Andrew Forrest said. The development “will enable Fortescue to rapidly achieve its growth ambitions within a sector that is underpinned by an extraordinary demand profile,” he said in a statement. Australia's third largest iron ore miner said most stages of the expansion – including at its existing Chichester Hub and greenfield development Solomon – would be due for completion by early 2013. Fortescue said it had proven its ability to expedite construction when it built its own railway line to ship its ore to port, adding that it was on track to hit annual production of 55 million tons by February 2011. BHP, which produced 124.9 million tons of iron ore last financial year, this week announced extra spending on Pilbara projects while Rio is planning to grow production to 333 million tons by the middle of 2015. – Agence France
